Abstract

This collection consists of the papers of the
Boston merchant and shipping firm Bryant & Sturgis, primarily business
correspondence with other merchants and shipmasters around the world. Also
included in the collection are the papers of Marblehead (Mass.) merchants
Robert and John Hooper, and those of U.S. Congressman and merchant William
Reed, also of Marblehead.

Biographical Sketches

John Bryant was a partner in the firm of Boston
merchant and shipping firm Bryant and Sturgis (Boston, Mass.) with William
Sturgis for 53 years. Bryant and Sturgis traded lumber, tea, opium, sugar, and
many other goods.

Robert and John Hooper were merchants of
Marblehead, Mass.

William Reed (1776-1837) was born in Marblehead,
Mass. He became a merchant, was elected as a Federalist to the 12th and 13th
Congresses (1811-1815), and served as a member of the board of the Andover
Theological Seminary and a trustee of Dartmouth College.

William Sturgis (1782-1863) was born in
Barnstable, Mass., the son of William Sturgis and Hannah Mills. He sailed at an
early age to the northwest coast of North America on fur-gathering expeditions
and to China to trade in tea and other wares. He became a shipmaster and later
a merchant. He was a partner in the Boston firm of Bryant and Sturgis with John
Bryant for 53 years, a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, a
state senator, and the president of the Boston Marine Society.

Collection Description

This bulk of the Hooper-Sturgis papers consists of the business
correspondence of Bryant and Sturgis with other merchants and shipmasters
around the world. For an alphabetical list of Bryant and Sturgis
correspondents, see
Correspondents of Bryant and Sturgis below. The
collection includes ships' accounts, receipt books, and a volume of accounts
kept by William Sturgis for minor Wendell T. Davis. Other Sturgis papers relate
to the construction of J.P. Cushing's house in Boston, designed by Asher
Benjamin. The collection also contains the papers of Robert Hooper and Sons,
Robert and John Hooper, and William Reed, all of Marblehead, Mass.

Acquisition Information

Custodial History

The collection most likely came together as a result of a marriage between
William Sturgis's daughter Ellen Sturgis (1812-1848) and Robert W. Hooper
(1810-1885). Their son Edward William Hooper (1839-1901) married in 1864 Fanny
Hudson Chapin (d. 1881) and had Ellen Sturgis Hooper (b. 1872), who married
John Briggs Potter in 1908.

Detailed Description of the Collection

I. Loose papers,
1798-1857

Arranged chronologically.

Papers from 1798 to 1810 consist of business correspondence and other items
of Messrs. Robert Hooper and Sons of Marblehead, Mass., including shipping
documents. In 1809, William Reed and William Hooper appear as partners in a
shipping venture (with the schooner John). Papers
related to Robert and John Hooper begin in 1809, and William and Nathaniel
Hooper in 1810.

Bryant and Sturgis correspondence with merchants and shipmasters around the
world, including Philip Ammidon of Canton, begins in 1812. Correspondents in
1813 include: Edward Carrington of Providence, R.I.; John Bromfield (a
shipmaster); Bailey and Willis of New York City; Edward Boden (a shipmaster);
Bulkley, Somarindyck and Co. (N.Y.C.); Charles J. Catlett (Alexandria, Va.);
Samuel Williams (London); and Henry Oxnard (a shipmaster of Portland, Me.).
Beginning in 1814, merchant correspondents include Samuel Grant of
Philadelphia, Josiah Sturgis of New York, Sturgis and Lovell of Charleston,
Perkins and Co. of Canton, Seth Russell and Sons of New Bedford, James P.
Sturgis of Canton, James and T.H. Perkins of Boston, and many others; beginning
in 1815, Ebenezer Rollins of Havana, Joshua Hilton of Wiscasset, Me., Levett
Harris of St. Petersburg, Goodhue and Ward of New York, Benjamin and Thomas C.
Hoppin and Co. of Providence, George Abbot (a shipmaster), Thomas W. Ward of
New York, Joseph Pierce (a shipmaster), and many others; beginning in 1816,
Washing of Canton, Isaac Waters of Batavia, Richard B. Hinckley of Havana,
Grants and Stone of Philadelphia, Hutchinson Travers and Co. of Lisbon, James
Drake of Havana, Higgens Moore and Co. of Trieste, James Lovett of New York,
D.M. Bryant (a shipmaster of supercargo), and Samuel Curson of Havana; and
beginning in 1820, E.W. Waldo of Havana and John Williams of Batavia. For a
full listing of correspondents between 1812 and 1820, see
Correspondents of Bryant and Sturgis below.
Additional Bryant and Sturgis papers, primarily business-related items, are
dated 1857-1858.

Included in this series are commercial papers for Robert and John Hooper,
1821-1829. Documents between 1829 and 1832 concern the design and construction
of a house for John P. Cushing on Bowdoin Street in Boston, Mass., overseen by
William Sturgis. Many of the receipts and accounts were signed by Asher
Benjamin, who apparently designed and managed the construction project. This
series also contains papers of John Hooper, 1838-1849, whose principal
correspondents were Aikins Adams of Fairhaven, Mass., and W.C. Hichborn of
Charleston; some letters belonging to Benjamin T. Reed; and the papers of
William Reed, primarily dated after 1831, but with some scattered items from
1805 and 1816. Reed's papers include some personal items, but most are related
to the shipping business.

Box 1

1798-Mar. 1814

Box 2

Apr.-Dec. 1814

Box 3

Jan.-May 1815

Box 4

June-Oct. 1815

Box 5

Nov. 1815-Apr. 1816

Box 6

May-Sep. 1816

Box 7

Oct. 1816-Mar. 1817

Box 8

Apr.-Dec. 1817

Box 9

1818-1835

Box 10

1836-1857

II. Volumes,
1804-1843

This series is divided into four subseries: A. Bryant and Sturgis receipt
books; B. Bryant and Sturgis ships' accounts; C. Other account books; and D.
Letterbooks. Included in this series are some account books and letterbooks of
Robert and John Hooper, as well as a letterbook of William Reed.

A. Bryant and Sturgis receipt books,
1811-1841

Box 11Folder 1

Aug. 1811-June 1815

Box 11Folder 2

June 1815-Mar. 1818

Box 11Folder 3

Mar. 1818-Feb. 1820

Box 11Folder 4

Mar. 1820-Feb. 1824

Box 12Folder 1

May 1832-Dec. 1834

Box 12Folder 2

Jan. 1835-June 1841

B. Bryant and Sturgis ships' accounts,
1815-1843

Box 12Folder 3

Ships Ophelia and Mentor,
1815-1823

Box 12Folder 4

Ship Tartar,
1820-1823

Box 12Folder 5

Ship Mentor,
1822-1825

Box 12Folder 6

Ship Tartar,
1824-1825

Box 12Folder 7

Ships Triton and Herald,
1824-1836

Box 13Folder 1

Ship Brookline and brig
Plant,
1828-1841

Box 13Folder 2

Ships Bashaw, Asia, Luconia, bark
Tartar,
1829-1840

Box 13Folder 3

Ships Tartar and Alert,
1829-1843

Box 13Folder 4

Ship California, brig
Roxana,
1831-1834

C. Other account books,
1821-1839

Box 13Folder 5

William Sturgis, accounts of Wendell T. Davis, minor,
1833-1839

Box 13Folder 6

Robert and John Hooper, account book,
1821-1834

Box 13Folder 7

Robert and John Hooper, invoices and shipping accounts,
1827-1830

D. Letterbooks,
1804-1837

Box 14Folder 1

Robert and John Hooper, letterbook,
1816-1827

Box 14Folder 2

Robert and John Hooper, letterbook,
1816-1819

Box 14Folder 3

Robert and John Hooper, letterbook,
1819-1821

Box 14Folder 4

Robert and John Hooper, letterbook,
1821-1831

Box 14Folder 5

William Reed, letterbook,
1804-1837

Box 14Folder 6

Unidentified address book, n.d.

III. Oversize material,
1799-1848

Correspondents of Bryant and Sturgis

The following merchants, shipmasters, and others are among the
correspondents of Bryant and Sturgis (Boston), 1812-1820. Each name is followed
by the individual or company's principal place of residence or work, as well as
the year the name first appears in the correspondence.

Preferred Citation

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in
ABIGAIL,
the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers
desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should
search the catalog using these headings.

Persons:

Davis, Wendell T.

Benjamin, Asher, 1773-1845.

Bryant, John.

Cushing, John Perkins, 1787-1862.

Hooper, John, b. 1794.

Reed, William, 1776-1837.

Sturgis, William, 1782-1863.

Organizations:

Bryant & Sturgis (Boston, Mass.).

Robert and John Hooper (Marblehead,
Mass.).

Robert Hooper and Sons (Marblehead,
Mass.).

Subjects:

Account books--1815-1843.

Account books--1821-1834.

Account books--1833-1839.

Building--Massachusetts--Boston.

China trade.

Legislators--United States.

Lumber trade.

Merchants--Massachusetts--Boston.

Merchants--Massachusetts--Marblehead.

Opium trade.

Ship captains.

Shipping--Massachusetts--Boston.

Shipping--Massachusetts--Marblehead.

Tea trade.

Collection processed by Katherine H. Griffin,
December 1991.

Encoded by Susan Martin,
August 2006

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